Algiers Metro

The Algiers Metro is Algeria’s first metro system and the second in Africa, following Cairo’s.¹ The metro system and the Algiers tramwayⁱ aim to enhance the city’s public transport network, offering a reliable, efficient, and modern transportation option for residents and visitors alike.² Today, the metro serves three million inhabitants of Algiers, carrying 300,000 passengers daily.³

The metro project for Algiers was initially proposed in the 1970s as a 64 kilometer network.⁴ The project was officially launched in 1982, with feasibility studies completed by 1985.⁵ Construction saw several starts and stops over the years, and it wasn’t until 2006 that the project was relaunched.⁶ As such, the metro line (Line 1) was implemented in different timeframes and included the following segments:

• The first key segment stretches from Tafourah Grande Poste in the city center to Haï el Badr,⁷ with a 9-kilometer length (Line 1- Blue Line). This segment includes ten stations. The first passenger operations for this segment began on November 1, 2011.
• The second segment includes the system’s expansion with the opening of a 4 kilometer extension of the line from “Haï el Badr” to “El Harrach Centre” in July 2015, bringing the total number of stations to 14 over approximately 13.5 kilometers of route.
• The line was further expanded by 3.6 kilometers in 2018, linking “Haï el Badr” to “Ain Naadja”,⁸ reaching 18.8 kilometers long⁹ and carrying around 200,000 passengers daily.¹⁰
• The metro line(L1) includes further expansion, where some are under implementation and others for future development.

Construction was executed by a consortium led by Siemens and included VINCI Construction Grands Projets, France, and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles S.A. (CAF), Spain.¹¹ Siemens was tasked with installing the track, electrification, power supply, fare collection equipment, and the entire signaling and train control system.¹² Meanwhile, Vinci was responsible for the civil works, including escalators, tunnel and station ventilation, the control center, and the maintenance depot. Trevi has been involved in the construction of foundations and soil consolidation activities.¹³

CAF supplied the metro fleet of 14 six-cart trains.¹⁴ RATP El Djazaïr was contracted with the operation and maintenance of the Algiers metro when it opened in 2011 till 2020, when operations were re-internalized by the Public Transport Authority.¹⁵ The metro’s establishment came at a cost of around $1.2 billion.¹⁶